Rachel Bruce is an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker with over 25 years’ experience in the fields of mental health and family and domestic violence. She was born and raised on Waibene (Thursday Island) and is a proud descendant of the Maluligal Nation (Western Island) Wagadagam tribe of Mabuyag Island and the Kemer Kemer Nation (Eastern Islands) of Mer and Erub. Rachel has worked across government and non-government organisations, bringing extensive experience in community-based and culturally informed practice.

Rachel has held senior leadership and frontline clinical roles with a strong focus on delivering culturally safe, community-led social and emotional wellbeing support. She has led multidisciplinary teams across remote and regional communities, strengthened service models through effective governance and stakeholder partnerships, and provided cultural mentoring and professional supervision in line with the AASW standards, consistently working to improve outcomes for communities.

Rachel works to promote social justice, equality, self-determination and human rights. She has a strong stance on accountability, transparency, strong governance and to uphold the values and ethos of the Australian Association of Social Workers.